News : Duane Fisher named Grand Marshal of Party in the Park Parade

Duane Fisher, shown here at the FFA Labor Auction, is Grand Marshal of Party in the Park Parade.

As long as there has been Party in the Park in Vinton, Duane Fisher and his crew of Vinton-Shellsburg FFA members have been providing rides on ponies, horses and pedal pull tractors for countless children.

This year -- the year that Fisher retires after 37 years of leading the VS FFA program -- the Party in the Park will honor Fisher with a ride of his own. He will ride in the Parade as the 2010 Grand Marshal.

“It was quite a pleasant surprise”, Fisher said of being named this year’s Grand Marshall for the Party in the Park festivities set for June 24,25 & 26.

Though Fisher may have been surprised, it’s no surprise to anyone else in the community of Vinton. The retiring Vinton Shellsburg agriculture teacher has been a prominent face on the scene since coming to the area in 1973.

“It’s hard to find a person in the area who has influenced so many lives”, VPRD Director Duane Randall said.

Fisher’s long list of volunteer activities includes helping at the county fair livestock arenas, Dollars for Scholars, Vinton Jaycees, Benton County 4-H and FFA Youth Council, just to name a few. Every holiday season you find Duane Fisher and the FFA students helping to hang the roping downtown. Fisher has helped plant flowers at the Skate and Activity Center, the Recreation Center, the city parks and most recently helped with the tree planting project at the high school. Duane has always made it a point to his students that helping in your community should be a high priority.

And speaking of the high school, there’s not a student or teacher in the place that hasn’t been influenced by Mr. Fisher in one way or another. For 25 of the last 37 years, Duane Fisher has been president of the Vinton Shellsburg Education Association. He’s led teams of FFA students to District, Regional and National contests in leadership, public speaking and agriculture related judging events. Another popular event that Fisher started was tractor day. One day a year, students drive their tractors to school and learn about PTO’s, torque, and horsepower.

Education has been a large part of Duane Fisher’s life, and the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. His three children are all deeply entrenched in education as well. Son Charles is working on his PhD in Materials Engineering, daughter Elizabeth is with the Teach America program in Arizona, and son Andrew teaches children in Colorado. And Mrs. Fisher? She can be found at the Iowa Braille School and the high school in the nurse’s office.

There are too many things to mention that Duane Fisher has had his hands in. Yet, with all the accomplishments that Duane Fisher has achieved in his lifetime, he remains the humble guy who just does what needs to be done. You’ll see him on the parade float on June 26th, but there’s a good chance you’ll see him before that too. He’ll be the guy setting up the trash cans at the park, or making sure the petting zoo and pony rides go smoothly and safely for the younger kids. Duane Fisher has served Vinton all these years never really seeking any glory. Maybe he sums it up best. “I’m just proud to represent the community”. Congratulations, Mr. Fisher! And thank you.

The parade takes place at 5:30 p.m. Saturday June 26. See complete parade information HERE.